First impressions of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S case accessory The Grid

Apple's iPhone is an excellent machine for buying and playing games on.

I mean, the App Store is chock-full of quality titles across a wide range of genres. Many of these games are available for free or for just 69p / 99c.

Some games work better on the iPhone's touchscreen than others, though. First-person shooters, for example, aren't really suited to a buttonless device.

Heim Product Design is hoping to solve this issue with The Grid. Somewhat, at least.

On the face of it

The Grid, you see, is a case accessory for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Heim Product Design's peripheral ships with a set of rubber attachments that act as makeshift triggers.

You affix these triggers, as you can see in the image above, to the top of the case (if you're holding your smartphone horizontally). Every time you press down on one of these triggers, it makes contact with your device's screen.

The case itself is manufactured out of a black plastic material that feels rather cheap until you snap your iPhone snuggly into the back of it.

With an iPhone in place, the case - thankfully - feels a lot more rugged.

It's just the right size, too. My relatively normal-sized hands could reach the accessory's triggers, as well as my iPhone's Retina touchscreen, with ease.

I tested this case with my iPhone 4S and I had easy access to my device's volume buttons, 3.5mm headphone jack, power button, Home button, and 30-pin connector.